


The Divinity In My Veins

by Lethargic_Pink



Series: Bring Me Home To You [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Growing Up, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi Lies, Miraculous Side Effects, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Salty Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26589436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lethargic_Pink/pseuds/Lethargic_Pink
Summary: “You’ve never told me the details of course, and I won’t start asking for them, but you told me once before that the kwami had given you a choice, have you given your answer?” Fu asks.Marinette gazes down in silence, heat rushing her cheeks in guilt and shame. It’s been two years after all, you’d think she’d already figured out what she wanted.“No,” her voice is barely above a whisper, she can barely get it out, “I haven’t yet.”It's been just over two years since the defeat of Hawkmoth. Life has continued on. Marinette and Adrien have yet to come to a decision in regards to the kwamis' offer and aren't sure if they ever will. But when a new foe appears, Marinette and her friends find themselves facing a deadline and now must make a choice before their choice is made for them.Sequel toThe Heartbeat Beneath My Fingertips.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Master Fu/Marianne Lenoir
Series: Bring Me Home To You [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1905874
Comments: 18
Kudos: 25





	1. Prologue: MR

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Katerany8910](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katerany8910/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It’s been awhile!  
> So, are we wondering what this is?  
> Well! It just so happens to be the beginnings of a sequel to my best work _The Heartbeat Beneath My Fingertips!_  
>  I haven’t gotten it all fleshed out yet so it likely won’t come around till _maybe_ November, or near that time. I had originally planned to withhold this prologue until I was ready to start releasing this fic, _however_ , today just so happens to be the day Our Son appeared and jump started this story! In fact, the first chapter, according to my time, should have ended about 15 minutes ago! So I decided to release this for that.  
> Originally, this fic would not have happened and I was planning to just leave _Heartbeat_ without a sequel, but then I got a certain comment from a certain reader who has already inspired two other chapters for this series: Katerany8910!  
> Katerany asked a few questions on my last chapter and as I thought of writing an epilogue, I found that I could actually make an _entire sequel_ in response. And so, the reason for gifting this.  
> If it hadn’t been for Katerany, this would likely never have been a thought in my mind!  
> With that, I hope you all enjoy this and look forward to this fully coming out!

Marinette’s eyes fluttered open, her hair teasing her neck and face in long inky tendrils.

Honestly, she hadn’t actually been asleep. It appeared she couldn’t here, but she still tried.

She could get rather close, her mind becoming quiet and her body relaxing. She was still awake, she didn’t need sleep, but it felt like she had powered off, and she no longer had to sit and think about the things she’s seen and what might happen to her now.

Reality shattered and flowed around her as she floated in the darkness of wherever she was, possibilities twinkling about her like a million stars. It was constantly showing her new things, different scenarios, different worlds, different versions of her. 

She saw when Our Son had never happened and when a final battle came to play, she was not close to her Chat, instead, he was with another. Her ears rang with a cry of jealousy... and a determination for something else. Then she was off, running to Master Fu and forgetting Chloe. There, she had ended up alone, the weight of the world on her shoulders, bearing down on her until she inevitably broke, estranged from her partner due to being Guardian, unable to call on anyone else to aid her due to identities being revealed, no mentor to instruct her where she lacked, and a stronger than ever Hawkmoth and Mayura. Fights happened daily and were incredibly strong with Mayura’s backing. She wondered what had happened to cause that.

She was suddenly very glad that she had not been forced into such a solitary role, glad that both Nino and Alya were Guardian and could help each other. Glad she knew who her beloved was. Glad she had become friends with Chloe over the two years since defeating Hawkmoth.

She was so grateful.

She saw other things too. 

Her and Adrien terribly wounded, a crumbling Paris, Gabriel and holes of blood and gore. There, Gabriel had turned out better.

Her, dying in another final battle, knife-like wounds, and unknowingly bringing Chat with her.

She saw many things, her but with wings (something she had actually experienced already) and another set of arms, becoming slightly monstrous due to her connection to Tikki instead of gaining her powers of creation. There were fox ears, bee wings, cat tails, and tough skin too. 

Lila staying and beating her down, down, down, until finally...

**_S̵̜͔̲̼͉͒͊̂̆̚H̸̢̝̖̗͎̭͗A̵͎̗̭̰͇̱̖̐͑͐̐̄͛͝ͅT̷̨͈̰̦̪͋̍̃̇̒̓̈̓T̴̡͓͓͕̙̆́̄̊͗̇͐̕͝ͅE̵̼̤͕̭̦̋͑R̷̡̠̘͍̺͍͋͝͝Ĩ̶̞̳̳̭̤̃͒̽͘N̷̙̊͜G̸̱̗͓͕͎͇̭̩̖̒_ **

like the windshield of that car, leaving her precious Adrien alone, heartbroken. 

It wasn’t a surprise to see either herself or Adrien die, they had in so many other realities. Even so, it stung every time to witness it and the aftermath.

Her heart would always be lifted though, from the little fun there was to watching how other hers and Adriens found out about their secret identities. Often, shenanigans would ensue and it left her giggling.

It all brought to her a greater sense of gratitude for what she had -  _ has. _

She hadn’t lost it yet. Not yet. 

She just needed to find a way out of here.

Sure, it was amazing to see these things, but she’d rather go home to her Love’s arms.

She wondered how long it had been since she had left.

Marinette no longer had a sense of where and when.

Whenever she placed her feet down in some reality somewhere, it’d be swept from below her and she’d fall into another reality, only for it to happen again, getting mere glimpses of where she’d been. 

There was no day or night here, when reality itself was so fickle. There was no way to know what time it was, what time it will be, what time it had been.

It didn’t help that she didn’t need to eat or sleep and therefore no longer even had an internal clock.

It actually sucked not being able to sleep, especially with how tired she was. It wasn’t physical, it was mental, she was sure. 

And she knew why she felt like this.

She wanted to go home, to see everyone she loves, laugh with Alya, listen to Nino’s newest playlist, go shopping with Chloe and tease her and Nathaniel about their ridiculous mutual pining that both refuse to acknowledge, to hold Adrien. 

Oh how she missed her beloved Adrien. 

She wanted to pet his soft hair, to listen to the pun wars he would have with her father, to feel his purr.

She missed her pink walls and the ink on her bedding. She missed  _ her  _ ink stains.

When she’d come here, they’d disappeared, leaving an aching hole in her heart where her connection to her beloved had once been.

She missed the sound of heartbeats. She couldn’t hear the heartbeats of the other hers and hims and thems.

It was like watching a movie, unable to truly interact with anything, forced to watch as things fell apart.

Her simple white dress shifted in the throws of reality, her long midnight hair flowing in any and every direction as if underwater.

It was cold here.

Cold and empty, and everything always felt wrong, as if there was something incredibly important missing that should have been here.

It felt like she was waiting for something.

For what, she wasn’t sure.

Her eyes slid shut again, she didn’t care to think about it anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for spending the time to read this measly prologue!  
> Between now and when I plan to start releasing this story, I will release something for October, a mini series called _Monstrous_ , and after that, I have something planned for the 2nd of November, which just so happens to be my little brother's birthday! He inspired a small snippet of a thing that I am _super_ excited to share with you all.  
> I hope you enjoy what I have coming!
> 
> Thank you once more for reading! Tags and various other information will be updated when I release the first proper chapter.  
> Questions, comments, speculation, and feedback are all welcome!  
> Have a good week! <3


	2. Yorick's Skull

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I've finally got the proper first chapter out for this story! So sorry that it ended up being a little later than I said it would be.  
> For those who are waiting on the next chapter of _Monstrous,_ don't worry! I'm still working on it! It'll take some time for the next chapter to come out but I'll work hard to get it up, it'll be easier with my Christmas Break coming up soon so that's great!  
> A small note, I've changed a few things about Master Fu's and Marianne's relationship if you don't notice by the end of this chapter. Also, disclaimer, I've decided to follow a more Japanese-esque high school system to make things easier on me because I really need some of these characters to be in the same class all the time like in the show but lycée is more specialized than that and has things like different departments that each student can go into that I didn't want to deal with, so yeah.  
> I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

A chill wind blew past Marinette, her nose twitching in response to the smell of warm spices carried on it, making her shiver in her self made pink scarf and white peacoat. She knew she shouldn’t have worn the short dark pink pleated plaid skirt even with the thick black tights, she’s gotten even weaker to the cold.

She huffed a sigh, her breath visible before her, and tightened her grip around her hot coco.

The leaves hadn’t all fallen yet, but it would happen soon. The breeze whispered of the coming snow.

Paris was already beginning to set up Christmas, deals and coupons filled every mailbox, tinsel and ornaments lined windows that displayed their cheer through foggy glass even though Christmas was not for another month and a half, but it was always like this at this time of year. Pumpkin flavors would still be in coffee shops and cafes for awhile yet even as peppermint started to shine. 

She smiled down at the ground, excited to once again see the way the lights bounce off the still stained streets and sidewalks. They weren’t as black as two years ago, more of dark grey, but when night came and lights flickered to life, they still somehow found a way to reflect them like a reflection of the night sky.

A familiar large hand found itself on Marinette’s right shoulder, pulling her into the side of someone she called home. 

Marinette sighed contentedly at the excess heat her beloved gave off, snuggling close into his soft black duffle coat, absentmindedly blowing at the end of a familiar blue scarf to keep it out of her face.

Her efforts were rewarded with a chuckle that rumbled from a purr. 

Adrien’s hand rubbed her shoulder a few times, hidden away from the elements within grey gloves.

“I’m ready now,” he said with a bright smile, small gift in hand.

Today, they would be having their therapy session. They’ve already healed a lot and sometimes it feels unnecessary but they still need it every now and then so they continue to go, and it just so happens that Wang Fu will be in the office today, here to visit his lovely Marianne and hopefully stick around. 

Since the day he gave up Guardianship, he had returned to his beloved Marianne and relearned the story of the Miraculous, thereby restoring some of his memory as to what he’s been up to in recent years. His memories are shallow and vague, causing him to forget specific details that came with Guardianship such as who the Miraculous users are and much of the lore regarding the Miraculous. 

To say he was frustrated for having previously left his dear wife for so long would have been an understatement. He understood why he’d done it though. He didn’t want his precious Marianne to get mixed up with all the trouble that would find him as Guardian. 

Despite his wish to make up for missing time, he still had to return to the temple to meet with his previous Master who was still young from only recently emerging from Feast, as well as his fellow peers. 

Fu visited frequently over the past two years that he had to stay and help out with the temple but should finally be able to come and stay home after today.

The two wanted to welcome him back and would be meeting Alya and Nino at Lenoir’s Psychiatrics and Therapy where they would wait for Marinette and Adrien to be done before to Marianne’s home to greet Fu.

Marinette took Adrien’s hand in hers and they began their walk down the varnished streets that was beginning to glitter like starlight as the day grew darker, sipping at her coco. 

<◉>

“We’re here!” Alya announced as their group entered.

With a sigh, Marinette and Adrien walked into the entrance of the heated home after Alya and Nino, taking their shoes off at the door. They shed their coats and gloves and scarves, slowly revealing the still prominent ink stains on Marinette’s form beyond the splatters and streaks that can be seen on her face. 

The kwami dashed out of their hiding spots, zipping further into the house beyond their sight, giggling all the while.

“Welcome!” they heard around a corner, “I’ll be right out with you, please take a seat at the table.”

The smell of cooking food filled their noses and the hungry teenagers migrated through the entrance to the dinner table set with dinnerware, dishes of food on rattan trivets, and a pitcher of ice water. 

There are a lot of small pots here and there though it seems some of them may have started to wilt, which is saddening. Marianne must’ve been very busy lately.

Adrien placed the small gift he’d gotten Fu next to his plate and sat down beside Marinette. Alya sat next to Marinette at the end of the table, Nino to her right and opposite of Marinette. Marianne would sit across from Adrien and to his left is Fu’s spot, at the head of the table. 

“Hey!” Plagg called out with a pout, “Where’s _our_ food?” Tikki elbowed him.

Marianne walked out of the kitchen with a brilliant smile and a light laugh, a plate of assorted foods in hand. She placed it in the center of the table, “Is this good enough for you?” Plagg’s eyes were immediately drawn to the small cheesy treats that sat in its own little sector of the plate alongside blueberries and bacon, cookies, and matcha anmitsu. 

“It’s great to have you all here,” she starts as she sits down into her chair, “I’m sure Fu will be ecstatic to see you four again.” Plagg looks up with a scowl followed by the hurt expression on Wayzz. She merely laughed again then nodded her head in their direction, “And all of you too.” A smile dawned Wayzz’s face and Plagg turned back to his cheese with a small huff, content with having been acknowledged. 

They all know he cares for everyone in this room, he doesn’t need to hide his empathy anymore, but he has a small amount of pride in being the chaotic God of Destruction and he intends to uphold his reputation.

Just then, Marinette heard a heartbeat approach, soon followed by the sound of the front door opening again, “I’m ho- oh? We have guests?”

Quickly following that statement, Fu ambled out into the living room, his ancient eyes searching the furniture until they landed on the dinner table where they all sat. His face immediately brightened into a fond smile. Nino was glad to remet Fu, because now he didn’t have to see that cold unfamiliarity in those brown eyes.

“Welcome home!” They sing in chorus.

“Hello children, kwami, its a pleasure to see you all again,” he responds as he sits at his spot, hand immediately finding Marianne’s resting one. He looks at the spread of food.

“You made quite the feast here, my dear,” he directs to Marianne.

“Of course I did,” she gazes lovingly into his eyes and you’d think they’d never spent a day without the other, “You were coming home, and _that_ is a cause for _celebration_.” She lightly squeezes his wrinkled hand in her own withered one. Marinette can’t help but hope that her and Adrien end up like that someday.

Fu laughed, his head thrown back and his eyes squinting shut with joy. After a few seconds he recovers, mirth still dancing across his lips and shining through his eyes, “Yes, I suppose it is. Thank you, Marianne, you’re everything I’ve ever needed.” Marianne’s responding smile is kind and warm, the slightest hint of rosiness at her cheeks.

After a moment of staring blissfully into each other’s eyes, no one moving, in fear of breaking the precious moment, Marianne remembers her guests and straightens out a little, clearing her throat, “Well now, I believe it’s about time we start.”

The dinner is of course delicious, and the conversation flows well with it. They speak of many things and Fu regals his latest stay at the Tibet temple.

Marinette revels in the chorus of hearts surrounding her, each one strong and alive and singing of love and joy.

It is near the end, a few moments before everyone is done, and dessert is set to be brought out soon that Fu asks the question. “Now Marinette,” She startles in her spot, barely holding to her cutlery at his tone, she has the feeling she knows where this is going and she’s not a fan. “You’ve never told me the details of course, and I won’t start asking for them, but you told me once before that the kwami had given you a choice, have you given your answer?”

Marinette gazes silently down at her almost empty plate, heat rushing her cheeks in guilt and shame. It’s been two years after all, you’d think she’d already figured out what she wanted, and yet, instead, she’s making Tikki wait because she’s too afraid to give a proper conclusion to this odd situation. 

Tikki has shown to be patient, constantly reminding Marinette even as she avoids thinking about it like the plague that she’s making no easy choice here, it’s expected that it would take awhile for Marinette to decide. 

_“I’ve waited millenia, Marinette, I can wait awhile more.”_ she says. 

Adrien also seems to hold the same disposition as Marinette, unsure and therefore nervous to give either answer, so Tikki reminds him too, Plagg grumbling quietly in agreement. 

He doesn’t like being put on the spot and likes doing that to anyone else even less, _especially_ Adrien. He’s careful to not make it seem like he has any expectations for the boy even as he desperately hopes Adrien will say yes. He doesn’t want to pressure him. The kid’s had enough of that in his life already.

Alya and Nino glance at Marinette’s still silent form, head bowed ever slightly, with a great deal of sympathy. They’ve already made their choice, it was easier to do so when they already had extremely long lives ahead of them, but they understand Marinette’s reluctance. It’s hard being pushed to choose between a normal life and a life of eternity when before you were only being made to think on what career you wanted and where you’d go for further education. Those already seemed massive enough, but now they’re faced with their own mortality. It’s too much to expect of a teenager. 

Marinette comes back to herself sharply, straightening properly, realizing she had yet to answer the question as she gazes into those expectant eyes. 

“No,” her voice is barely above a whisper, she can barely get it out, “I haven’t yet.”

Fu’s responding smile is understanding, “It must be a big decision then, good of you to take the time to think it all out.” 

Marinette wonders if perhaps he knows what the question is, he’s always seemed almost omniscient. 

She nods.

An alarm goes off in the kitchen and Marianne hurriedly stands, “Oh the dessert’s done.”

The dessert is perfect of course, though it seems nothing can bring Marinette’s happiness all the way back up to how it was during the earlier half of the dinner, before the question. Still, it seems all too soon when they have to leave.

Wayzz zips up to give Fu a hug on his cheek and Fu laughs warmly before bidding Alya and Nino goodbye.

Before Marinette and Adrien go, Adrien offers his little gift he’d been holding onto all evening. Fu looks at him, then it, curiously and carefully takes the proffered box. 

It’s small.

Fu slowly opens it and stares, unable to look away.

Adrien nervously scratches at the back of his neck, looking shy with a tint of pink coloring his cheeks, “I uh, thought that you missed Wayzz’s bracelet. I’ve seen you reaching to your wrist to fiddle with something, only to stop when you notice that there’s nothing there, so I made it for you with Marinette’s help.”

It wasn’t much honestly, just a jade charm in the shape of a turtle, more rounded and 3D in shape than Wayzz’s actual bracelet, but it would likely be more satisfying to fiddle with. They’d only just gotten the box and wrapping on the way here.

Fu looks up at Adrien with a brilliant smile, tenderly holding the little box to his chest. “Thank you very much Adrien, I will treasure it greatly.” 

Adrien’s expression melts into pure joy, glad to have made Fu so happy.

They hugged slightly longer than normal before pulling away to allow Marinette out the door too. “Thank you so much for coming over,” he told her, “It was so nice to see you all, please come again.” Marinette hugged them goodbye and then met Adrien outside.

“Those two are so lovely together,” Marianne says, approaching Fu who’s leaning against the doorframe, watching the two heroes walk hand in hand. Fu nods in agreement, “Yes they are.” He turns back into the house, closing the door on the cold outside. 

Marianne heads back to the kitchen as Fu returns to his spot at the table.

“Green tea?” Marianne asks.

“Yes, that would be nice.” he responds as he observes all the plants Marianne has kept, fading sunlight casting rosy shadows through the windows and making the scene almost ethereal.

Not too long is Marianne gone when she brings him a steaming mug and places it on the table before him. “Thank you,” he smiles at her and she responds in kind. 

She sits beside him, a mug in her own hand, and looks at the blooming plants as well.

Fu takes a sip and hums appreciatively.

“Yes,” he repeats, “Very lovely indeed.”

<◉>

It’s when they’re walking home that Adrien speaks, arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close, keeping her warm. “Don’t worry about it,” he says, eyes still firmly placed on the blackened streets and sidewalks ahead. There’s no need to ask what he means. He doesn’t have to look to know that she’s still upset from the question earlier. “You’ve got time to choose.” 

If Adrien’s being truthful, he already knows what he’ll choose, so he hasn’t been worrying too much for awhile now. His Lady is his highest priority, he’ll go wherever she does, even if that means into eternity. He’s a bit reluctant to say that though, because it might put more pressure, though as he thinks of it more, he’s starting to feel that maybe it would actually help if he says it right. He just needs to get the courage to say, “No matter what you choose, no matter where you go, I will always support you, always be by your side.” But he’s too nervous to actually say it, just as one would be when proposing. 

Thinking of that, he already has a ring, hidden in the back corner of a drawer that holds things such as his legal documents. He even asked permission of Plagg to keep it in his box for now just in case Marinette _does_ see it. 

It weighs heavily in his mind, projecting its weight into his pocket. He made sure to pick one that wasn’t extremely expensive, she would appreciate the sentiment more than the price. So it’s a simple ring, a rose gold band with a small alexandrite nestled closely by petals of the same metal, forming the shape of a lotus, the word _‘Miraculous’_ engraved on the inside. It was around 500€. 

He’d chosen it as he remembered the sketches Marinette had drawn of the dream they’d shared the first time they’d fallen asleep together in her bed, the first time Adrien went _home._ He didn’t personally remember much of it, which he regrets, but where he can’t recall scenes, he can remember _feelings._ Such as the feeling that he’d been empty and tired, greyed out, as if under the weight of the ocean itself. Or the constant need to _continue_. And least of all the overflowing love before he awoke. 

He looks upon Marinette’s sketches, now tacked to the walls of her room, with fondness and nostalgia. He doesn’t remember, but he knows he’s been there before, knows he’s seen those beautiful sights. He’s already had Marinette recount the dream to him on many an occasion and can even recite her side by heart now. 

He desperately wants to give it to her, but he’s afraid that it’s too early, even if they _have_ been dating for the past two years, already acting like a married couple. He’s afraid she’ll pin him with that sad smile he had faced so often before Our Son and say, _“Can we wait a little longer? I’m not ready for that type of commitment.”_

She probably wouldn’t be so blunt but you get the point. He’s afraid of rejection. Afraid of being told “we’re too young.” or “we should wait.”

So he’s waiting. Waiting for the perfect time to bring it up though he doesn’t know if there _is_ such a thing.

Adrien can feel Marinette nod against his side but he knows that just saying that won’t change much. He ought to know because she’s been told it a hundred times, half of those being by him. 

He turns to a lighter topic, aiming to take her mind off it, and talks of the shenanigans Alya and Nino have gotten into lately, mentions the shopping trip he recently was made to third wheel so that Chloe had an excuse to hang out with Nathaniel and a way to make the situation not so awkward, a buffer you could say. Of course, it went awkwardly. At least… for the first fifteen minutes. They they slowly thawed and became more animated as Chloe began to help pick clothes out for some of Nathaniel’s characters.

Marinette laughed, shaking her head fondly. 

_Those two should just go for it,_ she thought fondly, the irony not at all lost on her.

<◉>

Marinette woke up the next morning grasping at the fading visions of freckled, round chubby cheeks, small pudgy hands, and iridescent eyes and tufts of hair that shattered the light like crystals. Beside her was a certain cat curled up against her side. 

She wasn’t surprised.

Slowly, she sat up, rubbed her eyes, dragged her palms over stained freckled cheeks, and smiled down at the dozing blond in his black cat pj pants and red Ladybug t-shirt. 

They’ve been trying to sleep in separate beds more often so as to keep themselves from completely depending on the other to have a good night’s sleep, which they had done last night, but sometimes, you have nightmares and need the company of another to scare them away. 

Trying not to wake him, she carefully climbed over Adrien and out of bed. He could rest a little longer, she woke up before the alarm. 

Once down the stairs to her loft bed, she padded past a sleeping pair of kwami curled around each other and snuck down to the kitchen to help her mom make breakfast. 

What felt like only minutes later but was likely half an hour, maybe twenty minutes, Adrien ambled down to the kitchen still clad in pjs, Plagg following close behind with shut eyes and a slightly more awake Tikki at his side, scratching at massive bedhead that never failed to make Marinette smile.

He stifled a yawn as he plopped into a chair and fought to keep his open. It was always so sweet to see him in the mornings, she couldn’t help but press a kiss to his forehead when she brought his plate of breakfast to him. “Good morning sleepyhead.”

“M’rng,” he grumbled out and fought another yawn. Marinette couldn’t keep herself from giggling.

Plagg continued to scrub at his eyes with his paws and then squint at Marinette for a moment before scrubbing at his eyes once more and continuing the process a few more times. 

Tikki landed beside him, turning a bright smile to Marinette. “Good morning, Marinette!” she chirped. Marinette smiled and said “Good morning.”

Adrien tiredly picked at his food for a little while before finally waking up enough to function properly and eat. Plagg was immediately wide awake when a piece of toast and melting smoked gouda was placed before him. Tikki thanked her for the macarons.

They enjoyed their slow morning, neither having the need to rush out the door because they’d woken up on time. 

After breakfast, they finished getting ready and then gave a quick hug and kiss to Sabine before heading down to the bakery where they hugged Tom goodbye and Marinette pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Their lycée was slightly farther than collège was but they still walk. It’s not too bad when they aren’t rushing to not be late, in fact both rather enjoy the early morning life as they head to school. The symphony of hearts is always amazing to tune into.

When they get to school, they’re greeted by Alya and Nino. They talk about last night’s dinner and about other things in life, carefully skirting the line that leads into more miraculous things. 

The five minute bell bids them to class and they all settle in their, seats, close to one another, each of them saying hello to Chloé who returns the greeting with the same amount of eagerness and courtesy. 

Over the past two years, the four had gotten close to the blonde diva and she’d gradually opened up, become less stuck up and more kind. Marinette would like to attribute the character development to having once been Queen Bee. She would love to give the girl the bee miraculous, heaven knows she’d deserve it, but there is no need for the Miraculous users now. Marinette and Adrien still go around and patrol every now and then, even work with the police on important cases, sure, but there isn’t a desperate need for magical warriors and there’s the possibility that Chloé would work so well with Pollen that she too could become a goddess, an immortal, the incarnate of subjection, and it pains Marinette to keep Pollen from her possibly permanent user, but giving Chloé the Miraculous and the choice of eternal life would be hard on the girl, especially when, unlike Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Adrien, she won’t have a partner to share it with, unless they gave out another Miraculous and there’s no guarantee that they could be a permanent user either. 

So in the end, Marinette would be left to watch sadly as Adrien witnessed as his sister in all but blood slowly wither away and die. 

Marinette sighs in pain and exhaustion at her train of thought, head thunking loudly against her desk where she dropped it. 

The five minutes before class ended and the teacher walked in. Marinette lifted her head and placed it in her hand, ignoring the questioning look she got from her friends. They were lucky to have gotten into the same class this year. Some of the others from their collège class were also with them but many of them were split among other classes. They all still got together, but already new friend groups had formed and less time was being siphoned off to spend with collège friends.

“Good morning class,” the teacher began, a flood of ‘good morning’s answering her. 

“Before we begin today’s lesson, I would like to introduce a new student.” The teacher turned to the door as it swung open, revealing the new transfer student.

Marinette slowly straightened, her focus gaining edge, and she dimly took note of the way Nino and Alya seemed to push farther back in their seats as if trying to get as far away as possible.

Warning bells rang loudly in Marinette’s ears and something disgusting and dark and possessive -no, not possessive, _protective_ \- arose within Marinette, putting every one of her senses into overdrive. Her mind seemed to echo with a call for justice, the cries of something ancient needing to protect her kind and be rid of the nuisance.

Every fiber of her being was _screaming_ to do something about this person.

Marinette didn’t even realize how close she’d leaned towards Chloé, pulling Adrien towards and against her, nor how the way she gripped Adrien’s hand tightly and how he did similar.

There, at the front of the classroom, stood an incarnation of terrible memories from their first year in collège, their first year as heroes.

Lila Rossi smiled brightly at her new class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has anyone noticed the reference in the chapter title? I felt really clever with that.  
> So this is the second time I've had Lila in one of my fics! Originally, she was supposed to first debut in this one but then my brother steered that off course when he got me thinking of _Not Sleeping_ so here she is a second time!  
> I don't have much written yet and there's some really important plot points that I need to think out some more so I'm not sure how an update schedule will go but I'm gonna aim for once a week for now. I'll release a new chapter ever Thursday.  
> If any of you notice any plot errors, world building errors, or spelling errors, please let me know! Your guys' feedback is incredibly helpful. 
> 
> With that said, thank you all for reading! I hope to see you in the next chapter!  
> Comments, questions, feedback, and speculation fuel me!


	3. Storm Cloud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's here! A second chapter! _(If you're not counting the prologue)_   
> I hope you all like this chapter, I've been learning a few things about France while writing this thing. Well, then again, I learn a few things about France with _every_ fic XD   
> I didn't know you could get tattooed at 16, where I live, you gotta be 18 or have your parents' permission with them there during the procedure if you want something before 18.   
> Again, hope you all like it!

The moment the door opened, Alya was overwhelmed by a feeling of ick, like she was stuck to something and no matter how much she twisted or turned, she could not escape and it left her body sluggish with this itchiness that crawled up and down her arms, reminding you of little skittering bugs. 

She pulled as far away from the presence as possible.

A cloud walked in, dark and stormy, more dense than Alya had ever seen. Lightning crackled blue and yellow and red within, snapping at everything around it. Alya knew that it could not be anything besides the transfer student, but she had to wonder what type of person they are to look like that? 

As they walked, they left a yellowing white substance behind them in the shape of their feet, specks of mottled grey discoloring it further. Each print seemed to reach for the next with small stretched lines like the substance hadn’t wanted to let go of their feet.

Alya didn’t know this person, couldn’t see them at all, but she very much didn’t like them already, and that opinion grew with the crackling of a Goddess’s vengeance behind her and the twinge of discomfort from both the boys in their group, Adrien reluctant, Nino disgusted. 

Since becoming Guardian with Nino, Alya had started taking her aura lessons from her boyfriend and being taught by someone who can hear the Voice of Creation is a very different thing from being taught by someone who could merely feel energies, nothing against Fu. 

Because she is both friends with the Goddess of Creation and Her incarnate herself and Nino can only teach how to feel like him, Alya had slowly been able to tap into the Voice of Creation. She doesn’t hear Her voice like Nino can, but her abilities otherwise are almost the same, though she’s sure Nino can see  _ through _ the cloud that was standing before her and the rest of the class. 

The rapid spinning and twisting of the dark clouds made Alya dizzy.

Once the storm was standing in one spot -likely giving their introduction that Alya couldn’t hear over the hiss of electricity, so strong she wanted to steal Nino’s headphones to block it all out. She had to hold back a wince and keep her hands from covering her ears- there was a contesting hum of the unintelligible from the Goddess of Creation that was building in frequency, spilling magic everywhere, coating almost everything in the room. 

It felt like a roaring fire, a tsunami of gasoline increasing in heighth and strength, looming dangerously overhead, a bow with an arrow pulled taut against the string, target already chosen. Strangely enough, it was this pure animosity that comforted Alya. Perhaps it was because she could feel that this person was a threat and her Goddess was already prepared to strike it down before someone got hurt.

The power of Misfortune was intertwining with the threads of Creation, Adrien’s nervous energy causing his own constant leak of magical energy to increase from a dripping sink to a small trickle.

He shifted nervously against Marinette who’s hair was scarlet, eyes the color of hot embers and face hardened in hatred. Ribbons of light flared angrily around her, lashing about her but luckily not hitting anything, heaven knows what would happen if they did. 

She had her arm gripping Adrien tightly to herself and his eyes kept flitting from the newcomer to Marinette, obviously a bit confused thought it seems there was a bit understanding there too, a hint of revulsion and pain, though it seemed to be very little.

Alya wondered who this person was to get such a reaction from Marinette. She couldn’t see them nor could she hear them, their presence coating them so thickly. 

Around them, their classmates shifted unconsciously from unease by the battle of power around them, but otherwise, they appeared to be excited, friends from Francois Dupont even more so. Should she know them then?

She looked to Nino.

She thinks she should, because the moment the presence walked in, it was as if Nino had shut himself away, heavy doors of iron shutting with a large bang that she could barely hear over the sound of everything else. It was as if he’d closed himself off from the world.

Even now, his face was calm and cool, unlike Marinette, but she could  _ feel _ it, the recognition and near hatred from him, and that scared her, sending chills up and down her back, because Nino was chill, he was kind and constantly thought about “what about their side?” It was that personality that had mellowed her out, made her less impulsive, more thoughtful and understanding, kind.

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know who could cause so much anger from the nicest of people but she still had to ask, her curiosity would forever be her downfall.

“Who is that?”

Nino took a steadying breath, trying to calm himself before he did anything dumb. They already had the Goddess of Creation on the prowl, they did not need a magically inclined Guardian rearing to go too.

“She’s Lila, that girl from first year of Francois Dupont.” 

Alya did not know a Lila.

Nino must’ve seen her confusion because he clarified, “She was Volpina. Transferred into our class for a few weeks before going back to Italy.”

Now  _ that _ was something she remembered. “The girl who said she was friends with Ladybug and you convinced me out of getting an interview with?” She didn’t even realize what she’d said before it came out and now that she’d said, the meaning of the words suddenly crashed on her. 

_ Ladybug’s friend… but she and Marinette weren’t close at all, in fact, they almost seemed to hate each other. _

A few memories more flooded her head before she snapped back into the present and her eyes focused on her patiently waiting boyfriend as the new information clicked into place.

Suddenly angry, she was barely able to keep herself from jumping to her feet or yelling. Instead, she clenched the wood of the desk tightly, pressing indents the shape of her fingers into the grain that gave with a low groan and she hissed out, “That  _ wench!”  _

Oh, Alya hadn’t seen it then, back then she was younger, more naive, and Lila seemed so sweet, but Alya knows now what it looked like when she was around liars, and Lila had been such a blatant one with nothing to back her outlandish claims! All those health problems that changed like clockwork and yet none of the teachers or staff had bothered to look into it. And what was worse was the fact that, for a very short time, Lila had convinced Alya that Marinette might be a bad person! 

Lila hadn’t been around for long. Maybe a month or so after the Volpina incident, before heading back to Italy looking worse for wear, claiming Marinette had roughed her up. It’d taken a few more months for everyone to slowly put trust in Marinette again but it was easier without Lila and soon, people had begun to forget her, mentioning her name in passing every now and then. 

It was with laughter and followed often by questions of what she had promised them.

Alya now wishes she could smear the form of their smiles into terrible blurs across the canvas of life and she wasn’t sure what she would do if she could actually hear or see the girl. The sudden cloud that warded against her was suddenly a blessing and curse. Blessing because it kept her from wrecking that pretty little face and curse because she couldn’t beat it black and blue like she’d always claimed Marinette would do.

It was terrible makeup.

Nino’s hand found hers and she was reminded to take a breath and calm down.

He always helped ground her.

Lie-la’s introduction was over because soon she was moving up the aisles to just behind Marinette and Adrien, causing the roar of magic to peak. She was so wound up, probably on a hair trigger, and getting side-eyes for it. 

Alya heard the hiss of electricity and wondered what Lie-la had said because Marinette seemed ready to snap, only barely holding back. She turned slowly, teeth gritted in what was supposed to be a smile but came out more as a snarl, “Of course not Lie-la~,” her tone was singsong, sickly sweet, and warning of further pressure being paid back in pain. She almost sort of hiccupped on the pronunciation of Lila’s name, making the jab not so obvious. 

The hissing was back and Marinette was ready to jump the desk, only held back by Adrien.

“Hey, hey, let it go Marinette, she’s not worth it.” It was by his words and his alone that they didn’t have a murder on their hands. The magic died down, scarlet turning midnight, ribbons of light fading, ember eyes colling, but continued to hold a dangerous aura like the glint of cutting metal in the night, poised to strike. 

Marinette turned back to the front, jaw clenched with both of Adrien’s hands holding her sides. 

Another hiss, this one softer than before, and Alya heard a pencil snap. In Marinette’s hands were shards of wood and Marinette’s tips were turning scarlet again. Adrien rubbed his palms up and down her bare arms soothingly, sending a small glare towards the storm cloud. The hissing bounced like it was trying to imitate laughter. 

Alya turned to Nino for an answer to what happened, but he just shook his head and opened his textbook, the lesson beginning.

She supposed it didn’t matter, Lie-la’s words were probably purely to aggravate. 

Alya turned to her work as well, the hum of magic pushing and pulling at her back rhythmically.

<◉>

Marinette ground her teeth angrily as she walked to the cafeteria, barely unable to keep herself from stomping, but not able to stop the irritated huffs. 

“I’m gonna kill her.” she snarled and spit, getting looks of surprise and confusion. After all, Marinette is well known to be kind hearted and generous, no one’s ever seen her like this.

“C’mon princess, she hasn’t even done anything but say hello and ask if you’re comfortable with her sitting there,” Adrien said, always willing to give the benefit of the doubt, though he seemed a bit reluctant, which, for him, is unusual and good enough reason for Marinette. “I know she was terrible before, but maybe she’s changed.”

Marinette whirled on him as she’d been walking slightly faster than him, “Oh so you’re not gonna mention that last thing she said?”

Out of everything, that vixen’s last words were what got her most. They were the stereotypical words made to incite her but even knowing they had an archetype did not stop the rage building.

_ “Need your little boy toy to hold you back? Can’t even deal with me on your own? Why don’t you face me properly and we can talk like  _ civilized _ human beings.” _

Marinette doesn’t freaking care what is said about her but anyone who insults Adrien like that is gonna find themselves in a frigging  _ grave. _ Nobody gets to say that stuff about her boyfriend.  **_Nobody._ **

Said boyfriend scratches at the back of his neck nervously, “Well, I mean, it kinda hurt but… what does it matter what she has to say?”

Marinette sighs and runs a hand over her face, anger cooling to a simmer.

“Fine. I’ll relax, but I swear if I see her do anything suspicious, she’s dead.”

Adrien smiles kindly at her, “Of course, that’s fine.” 

The fact that he doesn’t even comment on how she’s still planning murder makes her smile and feel a bit better. She holds her hand out to him and he takes it. They continue to walk to the cafeteria, chatting comfortably before catching up to Alya and Nino, who still seem a bit on edge but that’s expected when you’re stuck in a class with Lie-la.

<◉>

Everyone is crowded around a single table in the cafeteria and it’s easy to know who’s at the center. Marinette merely grumbles and turns away to their usual table, Alya following after scowling at the table. Nino doesn’t even spare a glance, coldly turning from it like it doesn’t even exist. Adrien’s eyes switch from the group to his table but eventually settle on the people around them.

Chloe and Nathaniel arrive soon after, looking at the gloomy table with confusion. 

“What’s wrong with you all?” Chloe demands after thirty seconds of silence. 

Nino sighs, and its heavy and harsh. He pinches the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up in the process. 

“Lie-la.” 

It’s a single word, or rather, a name, but its enough for Chloe’s eyes to fill with clarity.

“What?” Nathaniel was still confused, never coming to the realization to Lila’s lies. “Do you mean the transfer student? The girl who went to college with us for a month or two?” 

Adrien nods, “Yeah, that’s the one.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Chloe and Nathalie finally sit down, bags being placed at their feet. 

It’s Chloe who answers him this time. “She’s a prolific liar and was a complete bitch to Marinette.”

“Chloe!” Adrien exclaimed, scandalized by how crudely she’d put it. There’s better words after all.

“What?!” she turned to him, “It’s the truth!”

Marinette smiled and gave a hum in response to their group’s usual banter, mood lifting cheerily as they completely forgot about Lila who was glaring at them.

She turned back to the people around her, some those idiotic teens from Fracois Dupont, and smiled at whoever was talking. Then came the question of “where did you go to school before this?” 

Lila feigned surprise, eyes widening a little, lips falling open loosely, “Oh! Did I not tell you already?” She made sure she said it loudly, loud enough to grab a certain table’s attention.

There were several heads shaking, an answer she was expecting. She looked down at her hands in her lap, twisting her fingers in “nervousness” as she bit her lip, “Well,” she started shyly, “Before this, I was in Italy for the majority of my schooling except for the few months I stayed here during college.”

“Really?!” someone asked excitedly, “Where did you go?”

Rose piped up gleefully from the crowd, “Oh! Oh! She went to Francois Dupont with us!” A few more Francois Dupont alumni agreed.

“You mean the akuma school?” Someone else wondered. It’s a title they earned for having had so many akuma originate in and around their school and especially their class, though no one ever mentioned they were part of the cursed class, undesirous of the attention the name brought.

“Is that why you left?”

Lila shook her head, “Oh no, it was actually…” she added a quiver to her lips, a wobble to her words, a tear to her eye, “It was actually from bu-bullying,” she hiccupped. The crowd around her fell into silence before some started to comfort her, some of which were Francois Dupont alumni.

“Oh Lila, don’t worry,” Rose cooed, “Marinette’s not like that anymore, you don’t have to worry.”

Lila hid her triumphant smile behind her hands and shaking shoulders.

“Marinette?” there were repeated echoes of the name around the crowd. “As in sweet Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

Rose looked up in surprise, realizing what she’d just done, “O-oh, uh, y-yeah, back in first year Lila liked Adrien and they were getting along well butMarinettehadalreadylikedAdrienforquiteawhileandgotabitupset-” she rushed, getting the words out as fast as possible before Juleka put a hand on her shoulder, calming her. She pressed her lips into a line like she just said things she hadn’t meant to, shouldn’t have said.

Juleka spoke next, her voice unwavering and steady, “Marinette doesn’t do that anymore. Hasn’t since.” Despite that, the crowd shifted uneasily around Lila and she reveled in the discord she’d sown. 

There were whispers of, “Marinette was that type of person?” and “Even though she did all that, Adrien still decided to date her?” There was one in particular though, that caught Lila’s attention. “She means Adrien Dupain-Cheng right?”

Her head shot up in the direction of the girl who spoke, standing beside a young man. 

“Dupain-Cheng?” 

The buzz of talk hushed around them, interested in what was happening next. 

The girl sputtered a bit before managing to speak up, “Yeah, Adrien Dupain-Cheng. They say he’s got her name for a special reason. We don’t know his previous name and nobody will say,” the girl glared at the Francois Dupont alumni as she said that, though all of them ignored it. She turned her attention back to Lila, “But everyone assumes that it’s because they got married because they’re so lovey dovey and their friends are engaged and have been for awhile.” 

The shift of unease was different this time, instead due to the familiar situation because it was strange after all. They were a strange group indeed, but despite that awkwardness, when anyone was in either DJWifi’s presence or Adrinette’s, they couldn’t help but melt at the sugar they witnessed between the couples.

They’d melt even more when Francois Dupont alumni regaled them with stories of their final year where they had pillow caves and blanket forts and soon the unease was smoothed out as they remembered the tales. The pictures made the stories even sweeter.

Yes, Marinette may have once bullied this girl, though it seemed highly unlikely, but at least now, and for the past few years, she had been warm and kind, helpful to all that asked anything of her.

Lila looked around baffled at how quickly she’d just lost her group. That had never happened. She was also thrown by the new info. 

She could tell they were together when she walked in with how Marinette had held Adrien to her body, but she hadn’t thought they were  _ married! _

Lila hadn’t known what happened to Adrien after halfway through her last middle school year. He’d practically dropped off the map soon after Hawkmoth’s defeat was announced, so she’d been pleasantly surprised to find Adrien in her class again. Not so pleasantly when she noticed who was hanging off him, tattoos in the stupid shape of ink splatters across that loser’s skin. Who even did that? There were so many too! Sure you could start getting tattoos at age 16 here but who spends that entire time getting that many splatters inked on them? It’s not even that interesting and she’s even got them on her  _ face! _ Does she not have any pain receptors there?!

Marinette huffed a proud laugh through her nose from where she sat at her table, listening to the chaos unfold.

Adrien smiled proudly at her, happy grin at having people recognize her for who she was stretching his cheeks. He pulled her closer and rubbed his thumb in circles on her arm where it rested.

Alya turned to them. “What? What just happened?” She’d been confused by the heavy atmosphere around Lila for a short time and now it was bright like summer sunlight, bright enough to snuff the clouds around Lila out, giving Alya a vague idea of her figure, body still covered in shadow even without the storm to black her vision. At one point, Alya knew Lila had said something loudly, but not what and the rest of the group wasn’t loud enough for her to hear what was being said… unless you’re a supernatural freak like Marinette and Adrien.

Alya has the chance of getting super hearing if she transformed more, but as of yet, she hasn’t done so enough. The only other way she can get the super hearing, and this way was much faster, she’d have to accept being the Goddess of Illusion. 

“Oh nothing, just making up lies about me again.” Marinette said cheerily. 

If it wasn’t for the clear happiness in her expression, voice, and aura, then Alya would have been ready to throw hands. She was still confused, but she supposed it was fine if Marinette was happy and she could feel truth ringing amongst the group around Lila from here. 

Nino shook his head at her reaction, mouth tugging up in a small smile. He was gonna have to teach her how to see and hear past the visions and auras, but maybe he can put it off for awhile longer. He doesn’t think it’s very pleasant seeing her or hearing what she has to say. In fact, he usually lets the cloud stay over her and has the sounds at 75% if he had to put a number on it. Previously though, only her head had been covered in clouds and they weren’t nearly so volatile. He wonders what she did over the years to become so shrouded in darkness. 

He pushes the thought away quickly, realizing he doesn’t actually care at all.

<◉>

Marinette hasn’t heard much about lies and empty promises around her yet, thankfully, and Lila has kept mostly to herself, so maybe she can leave her be. For now at least. 

One step too far out of line, though, and she’s gone.

The day ends uneventfully and Marinette walks home happily with Adrien.

<◉>

As night descends upon the city of lights, streets glittering like a thousand stars, streetlights far dimmer than three years ago in the face of reflective streets, the unseen, unheard, and unloved come to life. 

There’s less of it now, what with the constant threat of heroes hanging above their heads still, but there will always be the dank and dirty of society. 

One such lowlife stirs, and within the shadows of an old ally, a hole rips through the universe, reality itself tearing, swallowing up a broken and bent tin garbage and box, mangy black cat with it, the clang of metal hitting something else and a screech of surprise unheard. 

Silently it sews itself back shut, leaving the world without anyone knowing it’d ever existed, that reality itself had been ripped open and something had left its confines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's that? I'd _love_ to see your guys' speculation! Oh, and if I screwed anything up, let me know! Keeping to the laws of my world is very important to me and if you think I haven't stuck to it, I'd love to know so I can fix it up!   
> Thank you all so much for reading!   
> Have a good week! <3


	4. Fading Grayscale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She could feel it.   
> Pieces of her world were missing.   
> Threads had snapped and gone.   
> Someone had stolen them and left a gaping, discordant hole behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!   
> I am so sorry for the sudden hiatus! The holidays hit me hard and I had less time to write than I thought I would. It certainly doesn't help that there's been quite a few changes in my school schedule since getting back from break. The changes should settle by the end of the week. Hopefully.   
> I'll try to get a chapter up this Thursday according to my original schedule I had planned for this story and for those who are waiting on _Monstrous_ , I have no excuse for how long it's taken me to get the next chapter up, aside from, again, the business I experienced over winter break.   
> Aside from all that, I really hope you like this chapter! We're finally getting into the meat of this story and I am _so_ excited to introduce a couple of characters in the coming chapters, one you guys already know!   
> Enjoy!

Marinette glared at Lila from above her folded arms that pillowed her head on the desk, a predator stalking their prey. 

It’d been a week since she arrived, since Marinette thought hell would wreck the world around her, and yet nothing had happened. After that first day, the liar had only once tried to mess with her reputation again and it didn’t seem she was making any outlandish claims anymore. She was still popular, still loved, even without all the lies to keep her up, exactly what Marinette thought she could do from the very beginning. She’d always thought back then that even if Lila hadn’t lied, she’d have been well loved, her class was just that accepting after all. 

Still, despite that, Marinette felt keyed up, tense and ready for something, anything, to happen. It felt like if she didn’t keep on her toes, even though after a week she should have let it go by now, she would be dragged into a false sense of security and just when her guards would lower, she’d be swallowed up.

Adrien didn’t try to convince Marinette to ease up on the possibly stalker-ish behavior, not when he was also tense around Lila.

Maybe Marinette really  _ would  _ have let it go, forget Lila and move on with her school life, if it weren’t for this subtle unnerving feeling, but then there was the reactions her friends and Guardians gave. 

Nino had never been too into Lila’s flattery, even asking Alya to not get an interview with the girl back in their first year of collége. 

He’d been so adamant about it that Alya had eventually given up, realizing just what the risks of “outing Ladybug’s friend” would be, no matter how excited Lila was to give the interview. But now, it’s not just Nino who shies away from interacting with the previous liar, Alya is too, even though she’s been close enough several times to hear the brunette go on about her hometown, which sounded incredibly interesting. And yet, even when Lila had actually spoken to Alya, calling her by name in a friendly greeting, Alya had continued on as if she hadn’t heard her. 

Marinette has since learned that Alya can’t hear her at all. Nino’s theory is that, due to Alya’s inexperience with the Voice of Creation, it is protecting Alya from Lila’s presence as it did to him when he was a child around dangerous people. A very worrying fact. 

Alya fwumped into her seat, drawing Marinette’s attention as Nino sat down like he actually had bones, unlike his girlfriend. 

The first conversation topic that came to mind was Alya’s phone, but just by the way she folded over her desk, face pressed into the grain of the wood, her limbs askew wherever they please, Marinette would hazard a guess that it still had not been found. Nonetheless, in case it was something else making Alya droopy, Marinette asked anyways. 

“Found your phone?” 

All that Marinette got was a heavy groan. 

“I’ll take that as a no.”

It’d been a few days but Alya refused to give up. She didn’t have the money to get a new one at the moment and didn’t want to ask her parents for the rest when they have a lot to deal with already. There was also the reluctance of finally getting a new one only to have the old one show up somewhere dragging Alya down. The craziest part was that not even Max and Markov could track it down. It was as if it had simply vanished. 

As she continues to look for it, she’s been sticking close to Nino, using his phone for calls and work whenever she can. Nino doesn’t seem to mind. When asked, he said “It’s not like I have anything to hide from her.”

Marinette focused on the DJ. He couldn’t seem to tear his eyes from his phone as news feed after news feed scrolled away beneath his thumb. Marinette understood why. 

Yesterday evening, one of his favorite music artists, someone he really looked up to, disappeared from the room he was staying in. Chloé’s family’s hotel has taken a huge hit for it even though it was definitely not a fault in their management that caused this. 

The police don’t have any leads. There was no evidence of robbery and no ransom. He wasn’t planned to leave that evening either. Rather, the only plans he had was to stay within the hotel and have dinner with Jagged. He never showed up and when Penny went to ask his manager if dinner was canceled, even he was missing. They both simply disappeared, bags unpacked, shoes at the door. Tea was sitting cold on the coffee table, freshly made, half drunk, yet discarded. 

Since then, the police have been searching but there’s nothing, absolutely nothing to suggest what could have happened to the two. Nino’s been down since then. Alya had to confiscate his phone last night to get him to stop his obsessive checking. He says the incident is too strange, and after having lived a life of being able to  _ do _ something when crisis strikes, it is hard being in a place where you can do nothing but watch and wait, leading you to do the only thing you can, watch… and wait. 

Being so used to ending problems in so little time has left his body expecting the end to be near and yet it is nowhere in sight, creating anxiety that he can only express through obsessive news checking. 

“Nino.” 

Golden eyes reluctantly turned from a white screen. 

“Nino, they’ll find them.” Adrien’s jaw was clenched tightly, and with Marinette’s hearing, she could hear the way his molars ground against each other. He tried hard not to show it, but his expression still slipped between the cracks of any mental wall he tried to put up. You could tell by the way he couldn’t even look Nino in the eyes that it was  _ killing _ him to have to say those words as one who has been at their mercy before. He already knows their pain, learned it when his mother went from ‘missing’ to ‘left,’ yet, what else can be said?

“They’ll find them.”

Something flashed in Nino’s eyes then, behind the window panes of his glasses, and suddenly the gold was gone, turned back to his hands though no longer to his phone. The screen flickered off and he nodded, “Yeah.”

There was no time for any other words for the teacher walked in then. Marinette looked to Adrien as the teacher began roll call, face still half hidden in the wall of her arms. His lip was caught beneath the unforgiving hold of his teeth. Attention focused on her love, it was therefore easy to notice when bone broke soft flesh and warm blood pooled against cold white. It took a moment longer though, to realize why that was. 

“Does anyone know where Rose is?” 

There had been a break in roll call, and based on how Nino flinched, Adrien could figure what had happened, and bit his lip from bitterness. 

Rose was missing as well. 

They didn’t need Juleka’s confirmation to know this, but she gave it anyways.

It was a simple, frustratedly confused, shake of the head in the negative. No one had connected the dots, there were so few to connect, but to Marinette, Adrien, Nino, and Alya, it was enough. 

Adrien has learned to read the reaction of Alya and Nino who can hear the Voice of Creation and Marinette, right then, finally recognized a feeling of oddness for what it was. 

As if Juleka’s confirmation had been the blade of a guillotine, from within her confines, Marinette’s world snapped into a focus it had never been able to achieve until now. 

She could feel it. 

Pieces of her world were missing. 

Threads had snapped and gone. 

Someone had stolen them and left a gaping, discordant hole behind. 

Loss wracked Marinette’s chest, ricocheting around within her rib cage. She’d lost so much and she hadn’t even realized. Closing her eyes, she reached out for the missing threads, hoping to gather them back into existence, and though she was able to do it for some, many threads were just too far from her reach, as if on another plane of existence. 

<◉>

Marinette was tired. Her brain seemed to be lagging all day and she was barely keeping her eyes open. She suspects the reason is from what she did, using so much effort to recreate the strings from what little remained. 

She’s so tired she doesn’t think she can remember anything from school today, actually, she’s pretty sure she  _ didn’t _ learn anything from today.

Luckily, it was now lunch time, marking half the day. With a sigh as she wiped at half her face in exhaustion, Marinette got up to head to the cafeteria after running by her locker. 

She had only just got her stuff put away and was getting ready to get her lunch when her thought process was interrupted by Alya.

“I found it!”

Alya’s joyous cry was a relief to hear after all the gloom that’s hung around everyone like a thick cloud, seeming to add to Marinette’s sluggishness. People and things were missing after all. 

Marinette, though having an idea of what Alya “found,” turned to make sure there was nothing else Alya had lost. In Alya’s hands held high above her head like a copy of that scene out of  _ Lion King, _ was her phone, ladybug charm and all. Even from here Marinette could feel traces of herself all over it, and it seemed she wasn’t the only one, if Nino and Adrien’s gazes on her were anything to go by. 

Ignoring them, Marinette approached, trying to hide her tire with a smile. “Where’d you find it?” 

Alya turned to her, stars and tears in her eyes, a wide, relieved smile to match. “It was just right here! In my locker! Someone must have found it and returned it to me!” That honestly didn’t sound too odd, Marinette herself had experienced such at times. She was relieved that it had reformed where it could be so easily excused. 

As they walked to the cafeteria, Alya’s excitement finally cooled while she thumbed through the device in search of any discrepancies, leading to a clearer head. It was only a matter of time till she finally noticed something was off anyways.

They were just entering the cafeteria when Alya turned to her, the place between her eyebrows scrunched, pulling them together, “Hey, Marine-?”

Marinette fell to her knees as the world around her lost stability. She felt as if she’d been punched in the gut and air was no longer an option. She tried to gasp around the growing hole in her chest as loss pounded against her very being but her body seemed to refuse and she choked on that which should have done the opposite. 

Even as darkness collected in her vision, she watched blearily on as things and others fell to the ground as well, the earth itself revolting, shaking and trembling beneath them. Dust showered their heads from above and colored the students grey as the lights flickered. 

Through the ringing in her ears that might have actually been the rushing of blood to her head as her heart beat for fear, she could hear the mighty crash of something solid and heavy returning to its origins in pieces like it was a gunshot.

Marinette leaned on the door frame beside her, trying to use the thick, cool steel to ground her, draw her back enough to breathe.

There was shouting, Adrien having pulled himself from the shock of an earthquake first and ordering the others to stay away from the windows, hide beneath the tables, and hold onto them. Marinette couldn’t move to do that though, could barely even focus on what Adrien was saying.

Colors danced around each other as the students did as they were told, finally remembering themselves, and yet still, Marinette could not even breathe, her lungs spasming, her hands coming up to claw at her neck like that would somehow help the oxygen return. She was barely able to keep her pink nails from her skin with the small amount of rationality she kept. 

It was in slow motion that Adrien turned to see Marinette, only to witness blue fingers and lips, pale skin covered in a sheen of sweat, and glazed over, frightfully wide, blue eye.

His expression went from confusion to fear within a single second and yet it felt too long to Marinette whose world was coming to a stop.

He rushed to her, but he stumbled with another great crash, closer this time, once more causing the earth to slip from beneath the feet of those who still stood, and Marinette found air, but it was sharp and painful, tearing through her lungs as a hole puncher pierced through her as if she were a piece of paper. And after that one gasp? Her lungs seemed to be failing her because again, her body in shock, it refused to get her the air she so desperately needed. 

Adrien waited for the shaking to stop before once again crawling to Marinette. Just like the first time, it didn’t take long, possibly only five to ten seconds before Adrien could move again.

Finally, when he reached her, he saw the tears streaking down her face over black ink lines of previous tears like predestined paths and even though he was finally before her, she looked through him, no longer seeing him at all. 

He noticed, for the first time, how her fingers arced and curled towards her throat, hesitating only millimeters away. When he wondered why she was doing that, he realized that she wasn’t breathing. In this entire time he kneeled before her, she hadn’t taken a single breath.

“Marinette?”

No response.

Beginning to get a bit hysterical, he called once more, “Marinette?!”

Alya and Nino whipped around at the sound, abandoning their path to the tables. With all the negativity in the air, they hadn’t noticed Marinette’s.

Adrien wasn’t sure what to do. Did he touch her? What if that made her worse? What was worse???

Panicking, he did only what his brain could process, and simply spoke.

“Marinette, please, listen to me, you gotta breathe! Can you breathe?!”

Yet there was no greater a response than the tears already silently pouring down her face.

How long had she gone without air? How long has she been holding her breath? Can one hold their breath with their mouth agape like that? What should he do? How can he help? If he can’t help, will he- will he l- lo s e h e r----

. . .

Sheer panic and desperation overriding all else, his hands flew to her shoulders and he did not think once about the word he would say, nor think to keep his voice down.

_ “ _ **_M’lady!_ ** _ ” _

The agony and fear laced into that name that should only have been said with warm, loving, happy tones drove straight into Marinette’s heart as an arrow, power magnified by the connection the ink still tied them with, the connection she hadn’t told Adrien she had. The hands on her shoulders, far larger than her own, warm and heavy, grounding, gripping tight enough to possibly bruise, grasping at her as if she would disappear if he didn’t hold firm enough to her.

Need to be there, need to comfort, need to make things better, to soothe, to reassure, finally took over her system and forced air into her body in heaving gasps that wracked her lungs and hurt her chest, but she was breathing. 

The darkness that had all but consumed her gaze was shoved away and the ringing stopped. Blue snapped onto watery green, strong and fierce, and even though there were still tears, still pain, they were no longer frightened.

Even if her world falls apart, she merely has to fix it, only has to fill up the empty spaces once more, but she could do nothing if Adrien wasn’t there with her. 

He was top priority.

She could face the new loss later.

She wasn’t okay, that was obvious, but she was here, she was breathing, she wouldn’t leave him. Adrien was so relieved he could cry. Maybe he already was. 

“I’m here,” Marinette rasped, bringing a stiff hand from straining her fingers for so long to his shoulder in return for the one he placed on her. “I’m here.”

If he wasn’t crying before, he definitely was now, though he stifled any hiccuping sobs as best he could.

The hand on his shoulder shifted and cool fingers brushed his face, palm cupping his cheek as she offered a slightly weak smile. He didn’t flinch away, even as those icy tips should have made him want to back up.

He didn’t know what was wrong, didn’t know what had made her stop breathing, and it scared him half to death, but he didn’t need to know anything to offer love and cuddles later because he knew that whatever it was, it was still bothering her. 

He wouldn’t pry, she will tell him when she’s ready.

Breaking their minimal comforting, someone called out, “It’s been a hundred seconds! Check for any object that could fall on you and exit in an orderly fashion!” 

Marinette looked up to the source of the voice to find hardened gold eyes watching over those in the cafeteria and only just realized that Nino and Alya had been standing beside her and Adrien. 

“Are you alright? Can you stand?” Alya asked, worry and fear creasing her eyes.

“Y-yeah,” she croaked, “Yeah I can.”

She would and could stand, and she would walk out of that building even if her legs shook beneath her and her knees threatened to give. 

Marinette began to get up, using the door frame beside her to aid her, when Adrien offered his hand. Her eyes flickered to it, and after a small debate, took it. 

He easily pulled her to her feet.

She looked to him, keeping his hand in hers, and with another smile, quietly said “Thank you.” Adrien smiled back, “You’re welcome.”

Quickly they turned to the nearest exit and began to head for the streets.

Her knees buckled when she got to the stairs and she silently cursed them for giving up on her so early, but then a warm arm was wrapped around her waist, hand having pulled from her grasp without her knowledge and now helpfully holding her up.

She gratefully accepted the action that kept her from slipping down the stairs.

With Adrien’s support, she was able to continue walking on

As they continued on, she found more and more of her weight on Adrien who said nothing about it. She was so, so tired. 

After the day she had, it wasn’t very surprising. 

Soon, she and her friends were blending in with the hundreds of other people out in the streets. It felt as if the crowd was holding their breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

After all, when there’s an earthquake, there’s usually more than one aftershock, right?

<◉>

Marinette doesn’t remember much after leaving the school, the exhaustion of the day clogging her mind in cotton. Her body ached with every movement like she’d just gone against an akuma and had yet to cast Miraculous Cure. 

Time passed in a blur of disjointed pictures, the crowd shifting around her anxiously as they wait for another aftershock, Alya and Nino waving goodbye with half hearted smiles, the door of the bakery opening with the accompaniment of the bell, the worried faces of loving parents, and finally the door to the apartment where she now stood.

She knows distantly that it was only thanks to her clear exhaustion they were temporarily evade Sabine and Tom’s parental fretting and checking of safety, but even as the thought passes through, it quickly slips away before Marinette can really focus on it.

Adrien pushes the door open to lead her in. Her head stays leaned against his shoulder and her body sags within his grip. tThere’s a shifting in her purse and though she wasn’t looking, Tikki and Plagg must’ve flown off into the house somewhere.

When they start moving, she tries to at least get her feet beneath her to walk properly, but just as her head is too heavy to lift from its place against him, her feet refuse to cooperate and don’t do much other than stumble a few steps before slipping out from beneath her once more. 

Adrien’s steadfast grip around her waist tightens a little in reassurance, “It’s okay, you’re tired.” It’s not much but it makes her feel a bit better. Without much conscious effort, her face buries into his shoulder and upper chest, nuzzling the soft hoodie he’s wearing.

She’s almost seconds from falling asleep right where she was when she feels the plush couch beneath her and a distinct loss of warmth and comfort. 

Through sleep heavy eyes, she looks up to see light haloed golden hair and glowing green eyes. She really must be tired, but she didn’t need to think his eyes glowed to know that.

He begins to pull away, and even though her body refused to work properly right now, the panic of being alone right now –oh the echoing emptiness within her– gives her enough energy to reach out and grab his sleeve as he’s taking a step to the kitchen and stairs that lead to her room.

Fortunately, the light tug on his hoodie is enough to catch his attention. 

Adrien turns back towards her with worry etched in the creases of his face, small valleys that only deepen when he notices her tired but fearful expression. 

It takes a moment to get her jaw to work properly, and even more to find her voice, her mouth tasting foul and bitter as if she was actually just waking up, not falling asleep. 

“Don’t leave.” 

It’s almost a whisper with how her voice cracks from disuse and exhaustion but he can hear. He will always hear her, no matter how quiet she is, and she, him. 

The lines of worry around his eyes smoothed as if she had brushed her fingers against them and a gentle smile tugged at the corners of his lips. 

“I won’t. I’m just getting us some snacks and check that there hasn’t been a sudden decrease in cheese,” he nodded his head to the kitchen, “I’ll be back in just a moment.”

Her little strength waning, she could not protest even if she wished, so she let him go and gave an almost imperceptible nod, gaze finding her lap. 

After one too many incidents over the past two year of all the cheese suddenly disappearing with no other hint than the crumbs that clung to a certain black cat, a system was put in place. There would be three checks a day on the cheese, in the morning, after school, and before bed. Plagg is given a certain amount he can eat and if he is tempted to get more than that, he loses all cheese rights for the next two days and has to eat something else. It’s not like he can’t, but it’s not preferable. 

It should have only been moments, but with time distorted by exhaustion, it felt like  _ ages _ before Adrien returned, a bowl of various goodies and snacks in hand and a pain au chocolat hanging from his mouth. In his other hand was a small plate he placed on the coffee table in front of her before settling beside her and snatching up the tv remote, the buzz of conversation pleasant background noise to fill the empty space around them. On the plate was a small collection of bonbons and pistachio macarons, her favorite of her father’s macaron flavors, followed by the green tea ones he made that night she’d felt as if her world was finally crashing. Before then, she likely would’ve said her second favorite was the strawberry. 

The gaping hole in her chest that seemed to only grow and have no possible way of filling, shrunk just the tiniest bit in the face of such kindness and consideration. It didn’t seem so big, so wide, with Adrien by her side. 

He had known that something was wrong, that was obvious, and he had appropriately gotten her chocolate and macarons, some of her comfort foods. A smile lifted the weariness on her face just a little. 

She sunk into his side, a sigh escaping her without her conscious approval. 

It was warm here, beside her  _ Chaton _ in the soft pinks of her home, accentuated by the fading sun and its red and orange hues. It healed the aching, even if it couldn’t erase it altogether, and she slipped easily into a sound sleep. 

<◉>

Marinette woke to a darkened room and a news channel droning in the background. The sun had set and cast the living room in shadows save for the light offered by the tv and kitchen where soft clinking could be heard, likely Sabine making dinner. Tomorrow would be Tom’s day. 

She was warm and didn’t know why she had awoken, but she hazily took in her surroundings anyways, rubbing the sand from her eyes with her left arm, in desirous of bringing her left away from where it was against Adrien. 

The goodies in the bowl had been, for the majority, eaten, the level dropping to just about a quarter of the bowl. There were a few wrappers here and there but they were mostly centered around Plagg who lay on his back, asleep, belly distended from snacking on what seems to be all the cheese flavored stuff. Tikki slept nearby, crumbs instead of wrappers around her from her cookies, curled in on herself in a fetal position. 

Her own plate of sweets were left untouched for her. 

The soft breaths of the sleeping disturbed her hair, caressing it, and brushing the tips of her ears. Adrien leaned against her in his own exhaustion, the sleepy atmosphere she had unknowingly made and the mix of dull news and plotless cartoons pushing him into rest. 

The atmosphere was so fuzzy and warm still that she thought of going back to sleep, allowing her mother to wake her when dinner was ready as she had already seemed prepared to do by quietly cooking, but just as she was about to drift once more, a piece of what the newscaster was saying tugged on her brain back into wakefulness. 

_ “-rlier ‘earthquake’ today, as it was believ-“ _

All thoughts of sleep fled at the reminder of the day and she focused on the news, actively ignoring the growing ache in her chest that made itself known as sleep’s numbing vestiges faded. 

_ “… was actually not an earthquake at all. At noon today, two large buildings in the nearby fourth arrondissement fell for unknown reasons. Searches have revealed that on the first building, the entire ground corner, including the foundational level, has mysteriously disappeared, much as many other things have this past week. The second building has lost the first few floors of its store face and foundations in a similar manner. The resulting casualties so far are at 139 injured and 57 dead, the number slowly growing as bodies are pulled from the wreckage and others die of their wounds at the hospital. The amount of known people missing has also grown as the wreckage is cleared, their persons seeming to have vanished along with the portion of the building gone.  _

_ The collapse of these buildings caused an almost earthquake-like shake that sent hundreds nearby out of their homes, work, and school, disrupting daily life for several hours.  _

_ Someone reported that when they were finally able to return to their home, it had disappeared, leaving behind the smoothly cut pipes, steel foundations, etc. in the shape of a perfect circle an inch below ground level.  _

_ Strange things are happening here in Paris with the missing persons count rising daily and now entire buildings going missing. Is there a new Hawkmoth? If there is, what will our heroes do about it? _

_ I’m Nadja Chamack and this is TVi News.” _

Marinette felt cold. 

This…

This was the act of another Miraculous user? Was that possible? They had gathered all the Miraculous, hadn’t they?

But what else could cause such a magical thing? Nino had been acting strange as well, he must have felt it, the use of other magic. But that doesn’t automatically mean “Miraculous” though.

Ice clung to Marinette’s limbs, dragging her down down down a dark hole as one more thought came to realization. She was so consumed that she didn’t even notice when Adrien stirred beside her as the next newscaster stepped on with a “ _ Thank you, Nadja, we will now be moving on to…” _

People are dead. 

People have died and others gone missing. 

And she can’t cast Miraculous Cure yet. 

There’s too many for another Jack-o-Lantern case. Would it even work? Are the actions this new foe proper compensation for bringing them all back? It must be, right? If it isn’t though, how much of Creation must she use and how much Misfortune will Adrien have to cast to balance it all?

She needs to start working, and fast, she has to find and defeat this person as quickly as possible so that there’s not a great gap between when these people die and come back. 

Marinette and Adrien still met up with Jaquelyn and Anthony over the years as they still remember much of Jack-o-Lantern, so she knew, she knew how hard it’d been on Anthony when he came back and he hadn’t even been gone for an entire month. It’s already been half a week since people started going missing. 

“-ette…”

Oh this was bad. 

“-arinett-” 

This was very very bad. 

“Marinette!”

Her eyes snapped open to the sound of her name. When had she closen them? 

Orbs of bluebell buds searched for her caller to find themselves captive in mossy green pools. Adrien looked panicked, did he understand what this meant too?

“Marinette, what’s wrong?”

No, he didn’t hear. Right, he was asleep.

Ugh, worst time to have a catnap, but she can’t exactly tell him off when she was the one who initiated said catnap. 

Almost unconsciously, Marinette grabbed for his wrist and pulled it closer to her, eyes still stuck on his even as his was drawn to the movement before snapping back to her.

“There’s someone out there, Chat, someone new and dangerous. They brought buildings down earlier.” He already knew something was off with how she was acting, but the use of his hero name despite being civilians drew all his focus, something was wrong, and he needed to hear everything she had to say. Old habits from the time they fought Hawkmoth kicked in and he was ready for an order, but to hear there was another enemy? 

Fear struck his heart and only deepened when she said, “People have died.” He knows the meaning of those words, their weight, but even still, despite the fear, he held strong, and Marinette was relieved to see the determination in his face.

“We’ll get them.” He held her hands clasped in his, “We’ll get them, whoever or whatever they are, and we’ll  _ stop _ them. We can do this.” And just like that, the ice holding her down seemed to thaw and melt away, relief releasing her.

He was right, they  _ can  _ do this. They did it once before, and they were younger then.

“Dinner’s ready, you two.” Sabine announced from the kitchen. 

Adrien’s gaze did not leave her. She nodded, determination overcoming panic, and that beautiful green finally turned away from her, only lighting up more when they filled with the light from the kitchen.

“Coming.”

They stood to head over to the table, “Oh, can you get the light for me, dear?”

“Of course.” The darkness receded from the room as the lights above the table and living area flickered on.

They set the table as groggy kwami found their places and Tom climbed the stairs, wiping his hands on a towel he placed on his shoulder. 

Marinette and Adrien settled in their seats as Sabine gave Tom a kiss before they too were at the table.

“How’re you feeling sweetie?” Tom asked Marinette when he was across from her.

She offered a weak smile, but there was a brightness in the lines of it that, despite the weariness, reassured Tom and Sabine, “Much better now, Papa.”

They would have to talk with their parents soon about this matter, about what they would need to do, because Tom and Sabine already knew them. It would be easier to work if they knew Marinette and Adrien’s plans, but that was for another time, perhaps tomorrow, for now, Marinette and Adrien just wanted a little bit of relief, a little bit of comfort, a little bit of happiness before everything eventually went down. 

When dinner was over, the two prepared for bed and climbed the stairs to Marinette’s room, wishing Tom and Sabine a goodnight.

“We’ll check the cheese stash before bed for you!” Sabine shouted to them with a smile, hand beside her mouth. Adrien laughed and thanked her.

They went to bed early that night, knowing they needed the energy to start their search tomorrow.

Despite the still harrowing emptiness in Marinette that had yet to be taken care of and the stress of the day, she had slept will earlier, so she was sure she’d sleep well now.

She didn’t.

She hadn’t taken into account how exhausted she’d been earlier, so exhausted her brain hadn’t worked at dreams, but that wasn’t the case now.

Flashes of fire, red and angry, blue and vicious, screams of pain, the smell of burning, a man who once held himself to the highest of degrees running for the edge of a roof, a cold body on her chaise lounge and two beside it on the floor, the weeping of kwami, black ink coating the earth in agony; she remembered them all vividly that night. Remembered the trauma she’d been working on, trauma she’d been doing well with, and she woke screaming and crying, tears inky and starlight.

The stress and emptiness, the sudden loss that filled and pervaded her being, would not allow rest.

She would not sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you found any inconsistencies or things that could be better here, let me know! Constructive criticism is extremely helpful.  
> I looked into French news channels and the one Nadja works at but only found the logo TVi on a scene of Nadja's newscasting and I wasn't sure I wanted to use an actual French channel, so that's what I put!  
> Thank you all for reading!  
> I love comments, questions, and feedback so don't be shy!  
> I hope you all have a good week!


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